The Perfect Chocolate Cups

My friend, Brittany, and I are are like two peas in a pod. She is my workout buddy extraordinaire, shopping addict sister, and fellow healthy food fanatic. We have our differences too, though. For one, I love meat and she is a devout vegetarian. We also both like to cook and experiment in the kitchen, but I’m more likely to put in the grueling hours making something I could just as easily buy. I mean, I am the food blogger after all so it makes sense. I love making homemade staples like nut butter, hummus, and ice cream whereas Brittany would much rather just buy those things. To each her own.

We have a funny running joke that whenever we are at the supermarket or a restaurant, I always end up saying “we could totally make this” followed by an eye roll from Brittany. She may not want to make everything from scratch, but she certainly benefits from me doing it, like these goodies I gave her for her birthday.

The one thing I haven’t quite mastered at home, though, is the perfect whole food protein bar. I’ll admit that I’m also not trying too hard because I’ve found a couple of my favorite brands and I’m stickin’ to ’em. Perfect Bars are my latest discovery and I’m so glad I tried them because they are AMAZE! They come in seven different flavors, but the general gist is lots of nut butter mixed with honey and whole food protein powder (no whey or soy)=delicious! They are all non-GMO, gluten-free, organic and high in protein. The Cranberry Crunch and Almond Acaí flavors are the “lite” versions, with 35% less calories and sugar, and Almond Coconut is the only vegan option. Not only is every bar amazing on its own, but they are also great crumbled over pancakes or made into amazing little chocolate cups like the ones I’m sharing today!

Yes, these chocolate cups are as delicous as they look. And they are super simple to make! I melted a bunch of chopped chocolate, filled each cup with a spoonful, dropped a square of the Perfect Bar in and then covered it with more chocolate! I used my silicone molds so I could just pop them out when they hardened instead of using cupcake liners which I would definitely recommend if you’re using a metal mold. And I decided to use four different flavors of bars- Fruit & Nut, Peanut Butter, Carob Chip, and Almond Butter. I topped them with hemp seeds, shredded coconut, sea salt, and sesame seeds so they would look pretty, of course!

I wish I could say that I didn’t eat all these in a few days, but that just wouldn’t be true. I can’t be trusted around this kind of deliciousness!

If you’re anything like me (and even if you’re not), I think you’ll see how easy it is to make staples like these chocolate cups at home. I hope you give them a try, and if you do, share a picture on social media with the hashtag #24carrotlife. Can’t wait to see your treats!